


Drift Back to Me

by panther



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-16
Updated: 2014-04-16
Packaged: 2018-01-19 16:06:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1475824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/panther/pseuds/panther
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the celebrations are over neither Mako nor Raleigh can sleep and despite Mako wanting to prove herself a capable pilot, Raleigh knows sometimes you just need to be together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Drift Back to Me

They lie awake in their bunks for hours. Alcohol makes their stomachs churn and their ceilings spin slightly but that isn't what is making them feel _off_. No, it is not that. It is the silence, the loneliness, and the distance from each other. It can only be a few meters really. Their rooms are right opposite each other after all. That doesn't matter though. Meters are miles when inches makes their skin itch. Raleigh gives into it first ands pads across the corridor that separates them, not bothering to check if anyone sees because everyone knows the aftermath of a drift. Really they had been foolish to try and break apart so early especially as that drift had been so emotional. For fuck's sake they saved the world. He only knocks once because he knows there is no way Mako is sleeping, hears the thump as she springs out of bed and onto the concrete floor, and sighs with relief when the door creaks open and he is silently invited in. 

"Can I sleep here tonight? The drift is still there. I can't...I can't detach yet." 

He asks when he wouldn't have bothered before because he has seen what assuming does to co-pilots. Maybe Mako and himself will never need to get into a Jaeger again, fuck he hopes not, but they need to talk. Herc and Chuck didn't talk and now they can't. Assumptions are dangerous and words important. 

"Of course. I feel it too. I am sorry. I came here and did not ask. I should have known." Her cheeks colour but Raleigh understands. He has felt her fear of failure of proving those who said she could not do it right, of appearing weak to her partner. Raleigh doesn't try to reassure her. He knows she needs to work those feelings out on her own. 

No other words are exchanged between them. Raleigh crawls into the bed and presses himself up against the well where the sheets are wrinkled the least, and Mako smiles while crawling in beside him and flopping one arm over the edge of the bed. They fit. His knee tucks into the back of hers and her head is a light pressure on his chest. There is no need to pull her any closer. Instantly he feels more relaxed. He is more aware of the alcohol now and yet the more he is aware of it the happier he is. This is the first time since Knifehead that he had drunk in celebration, in happiness, and not just to drown out the feeling of Yancy being ripped away from him and the way his life had collapsed as a consequence. Raleigh has no idea what is going to happen now. He has no idea what Mako has planned if anything at all and if he has or even wants a part in that. He certainly can't imagine walking away from her forward. Someone who has seen your mind can't just stop being part of your life. For the first time though, he feels he is truly going to live, do _something_ , rather than merely holding on and existing. As if Mako senses his turmoil, her hand folds over his on the top of her hip and squeezes softly. He is no longer alone.


End file.
